Birmingham Muslim Cleric Hate
Fury over Muslim cleric's 'Hitler' claim
A CONTROVERSIAL city Muslim cleric was today facing fresh calls for his resignation after he accused Tony Blair of acting like Hitler.
Dr Mohammed Naseem, chairman of the Birmingham Central Mosque in Highgate, said the Prime Minister's plans to deport 500 extremists were on a par with the former German dictator's persecution of the Jews prior to the Second World War.
Talking on a BBC Radio Four programme, he said: "Hitler started a process of the elimination of the Jewish people. I see the similarities.
"I think Blair is not very wise in the way he is doing this. I am saying he is not handling it wisely."
The comments come after the Prime Minister announced an immigration crackdown with officials being given a list, drafted by M15, of those Muslim fanatics who were deemed a risk to British security.
It is claimed anyone singled out will be forced to leave Britain and have their asylum claims revoked.
But 80-year-old Dr Naseem's comments have provoked outrage.
Birmingham's Labour MP for Perry Barr, Khalid Mahmood said: "His comments are an absolute disgrace.
"All he succeeds in doing by making these kind of accusations is to fan the flames and whip up further ill-feeling against the Muslim community."
A spokesman for the British Council of Muslims added: "Dr Naseem's opinions are his opinions, and while we have some criticism of Mr Blair's new measures, we would choose to use our language differently." Dr Naseem first sparked calls for his resignation last week after he questioned whether the London bomb attacks were carried out by Muslims.
* THE alleged would-be suicide bomber arrested in Birmingham and two other men were appearing in court today.
Yassin Omar, 24, who was arrested by police during a raid on a house in Hay Mills, was set to appear before Bow Street Magistrates' Court, sitting at Belmarsh prison, London.
Omar, of New Southgate, London, Ibrahim Muktar Said, 27, of Stoke Newington, London and Ramzi Mohamed, 23, of North Kensington, London, are charged with plotting to murder passengers on the London transport system.
COPS SEIZE SECRET FILM OF MOSQUE RANT
SUNDAY MIRROR EXCLUSIVE: 4 February 2007
By SIMON WRIGHT, MICHAEL DUFFY & SUSIE BONIFACE
POLICE holding the Birmingham terror suspects have seized secret TV footage of an Islamic preacher praising the death of a British Muslim soldier in Afghanistan.
The mystery cleric - now being urgently hunted by detectives - ranted about the dead serviceman at a meeting in a Birmingham mosque. He said: "There was an individual killed in Afghanistan recently. Do you know what was written in a newspaper? Hero of Islam! The hero of Islam is the one who separated his head from his shoulders!"
The hate-filled speech at the meeting in Jamia Mosque in the mainly Asian neighbourhood of Sparkbrook was secretly filmed by an undercover reporter for an edition of the Channel 4 series Dispatches screened last month.
During the session the preacher hailed the death of Jabron Hashmi, 24, a British Muslim Lance Corporal killed by the Taliban in Helmand Province in July last year.
Tapes of the programme were seized on Thursday in the week nine men were arrested over a plot to kidnap and behead a British Muslim soldier. A West Midlands Police source said: "These tapes could be crucial to the investigation.
"Not only is the death of a British Muslim soldier applauded, but there is talk of beheading.
"Considering the mosque is only a stone's throw from where some of the arrested men lived, it is important we analyse the footage."
A Channel Four insider said: "All tapes, including filming that was not transmitted in the broadcast, were called in by police and can no longer be released to the public.
"Police are investigating allegations of incitement of racial hatred and a claim made on the programme about killing a British soldier."
There is no suggestion any of the arrested suspects attended radical meetings at the mosque.
But relatives of one, Azzar Iqbal, have confirmed that he did worship there. A cousin, Abdul Khan, 38, said: "Azzar did worship regularly at this mosque.
But he gave no sign of having any belief in terrorism. He couldn't possibly behead anyone."
The Dispatches documentary Undercover Mosques also showed preacher Dr Ijaz Mian spouting anti-Western hatred.
Saudi-educated Dr Mian, 65, has for years toured British mosques giving controversial lectures championing extreme Islam.
In one talk - also shown by Dispatches - he raved: "King, Queen, House of Commons. If you accept it, you are a part of it.
"You don't accept it, you have to dismantle it. There will be no House of Commons. Muslims must grow in strength then take over."
Last night the Sunday Mirror tracked Dr Mian down to a £200,000 detached home he shares with his wife two miles from six of the 11 Birmingham addresses raided by anti-terror police last week.
He said: "I have been reading about what has happened. I think it is very bad."
When asked what he thought of Muslims joining the British army, he said young men should "choose a more useful career, such as a mechanic".
Police are also investigating claims that one of the nine suspects had been involved in a fight with a Muslim British soldier.
The suspect is alleged to have added that "he should have his head chopped off".
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Muslim preacher defends TV comments
Jan 18 2007
By Jasbir Authi
Birmingham Mail
THE hardline preacher at the centre of an explosive TV documentary into extremist lectures delivered at a Birmingham Mosque today insisted: "I have nothing to hide."
Abu Usamah At-Thahabi was secretly taped for months by undercover reporters, appearing to deliver hate-filled lectures at Green Lane Mosque in Small Heath.
He is now being investigated by West Midlands Police.
But today he described the Channel 4 Dispatches programme as "a poor attempt at fair journalism because every one of my statements were taken out of context - without any explanation."
The cleric said he welcomed the police investigation and would provide them with all the DVDs of his lectures.
"I totally embrace and encourage a police investigation because I do not believe that the security forces will have any hidden agenda in which they will allow themselves to be swayed by Channel Four's sensationalist journalism."
The cleric, an Afro-American convert to Islam who lives in Birmingham, then went onto explain some of his comments which have generated nationwide outrage since they were broadcast on Monday.
He was filmed saying: "If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?"
However Abu Usamah AtThahabi claimed the programme makers had cut the sentences he said before and after this comment in which he said it was not correct.
He said: "Prior to that statement I was talking about freedom of speech and how I enjoy it here in this country but freedom of speech has its boundaries - that's what we should work by."
In the documentary, which also featured preachers delivering extremist views at the Jamia Mosque in Sparkbrook, the cleric says that Jews and Christians were "enemies" to Muslims and went on to condemn the kuffaar or nonbelievers.
Abu Usamah At-Thahabi said: "Kuffaar is a generic term, it is not a derogatory term and my comments were taken out of context.
"I was talking about the kuffaars who spill the blood of innocent women and children and steal the wealth and property of Muslims.
"The vast majority of my relatives are kuffaars, my mother and father are kuffaars. In all of the talks that I gave it was a consistent message, who are the kuffaars who we hate and the ones who kill the innocent."
The cleric was also filmed saying that although he did not agree with Osama Bin Laden's murderous actions, the al-Qaeda leader was better "than a million George Bushes, better than a thousand Tony Blairs" because he was a Muslim.
Abu Usamah At-Thahabi explained: "I condemn Osama Bin Laden's application of jihad but at the same time just as I condemn the Muslim who sells narcotics. "But because they are Muslims, they are going to be closer to me than non-Muslims."
The cleric then went on to say that his comments that Muslims shouldn't be happy living in anything other than an Islamic state, were again taken out of context.
He had preached that Muslims should work hard to be good citizens wherever they are living and that he did not want to destroy democracy.
"It conjures images in the mind of non-Muslims that we want to destroy the land, but as Muslims we should be model citizens," he said.
Abu Usamah At-Thahabi said he would provide the police with DVDs of his lectures.
"Let the authorities get involved in the investigation and get to the bottom of this matter in which I was quoted out of context," he said.
Two Muslim clerics invited to give speeches in New Zealand have been accused of promoting hate speech in Britain against gays, women and other religions.
Sheikh Khalid Yasin and Islamic scholar Bilal Phillips were last month shown in a documentary on Britain's Channel 4 allegedly inciting hatred at a British mosque.
The Press reported today that Yasin was invited to speak in Christchurch in May 2005 as a guest of the Muslim Association of Canterbury.
Phillips toured the country last year giving lectures as a guest of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (Fianz).
Fianz said yesterday it would not invite such clerics in future, while the Canterbury association said Yasin was a kind, tolerant person and would have him back.
In the British documentary, Yasin predicted that Jews would be exterminated on the Day of Judgment.
He advocated a subordinate role for women and said Christian missionaries spread Aids by putting the virus in vaccines for tropical diseases such as malaria and yellow fever.
DVDs of American-born Yasin's speeches sold in a Birmingham mosque included the cleric urging his followers to stop mixing with Christians and Jews because they were being defiled and polluted by Western culture.
Phillips, who also preaches at the Birmingham mosque, was shown arguing it was permissible to marry off a nine-year-old girl because the Prophet Muhammad had done so.
Fianz president Javed Khan told the Press it would not be inviting Phillips again.
Mr Khan said Fianz was not aware of the background of the two scholars when they were invited to New Zealand.
Muslim Association of Canterbury president Khalifa Alhasi said yesterday it would have Yasin back because he was "a very kind, tolerant person".